Taking a trip down memory lane to see how the 49ers have fared in their trips to Miami since 1995.
Misery loves company, and if you are looking for the AFC counterpart to the San Francisco 49ers misery, look no further than the Miami Dolphins.
Both teams entered 2024 with hopes of playing in New Orleans in February but have fallen well short of those expectations behind subpar performances from their offenses, struggling defenses, and a myriad of injuries – Miami has more players on injured reserve than the 49ers, one of four teams able to claim that.
A Miami win would mathematically eliminate the 49ers from the postseason – there’s still a path for the 49ers that REQUIRES a Week 18 tie between the Rams and Seahawks – while a San Francisco win will do to the Dolphins’ playoff hopes what the Rams win last week did to the 49ers playoff chances.
With both teams’ playoff hopes hanging by the smallest of threads, these are the numbers to know for the 49ers’ Sunday trip to South Beach:
-34.4
The Dolphins’ offense averages 101.4 rushing yards per game, 34.4 yards less than last season when Miami ranked sixth in rushing.
And it’s not like Miami is running the ball any less this season than last. The Dolphins ran the ball 26.8 times per game in 2023. In 2024, Miami has run the ball slightly less, at 26.3 attempts per game. That comes out to about nine fewer rush attempts than last season.
Part of that considerable drop-off from last year has been the regression of second-year running back De’Von Achane. Achane played a pivotal role in the success of Miami’s run game last season, rushing for 800 yards on 103 attempts in 11 games.
While that 7.8 yards per rush wasn’t sustainable, Miami was expecting more than what Achane has given this season, halving his production to 3.9 yards per attempt – half a yard lower than the league average – on 165 attempts.
Some of those struggles, however, could be placed on the offensive line. According to Pro Football Focus, Miami’s run-blocking grade ranks 25th in the league at 58.1. Right tackle Austin Jackson injured his knee in November and is out for the season. He was replaced by Kendall Lamb, whose run block grade is about eight points lower than Jackson’s.
Miami also lost right guard Robert Hunt over the offseason, who Liam Eichenberg replaced. Eichenberg and Robert Jones anchor the guards, and neither has been effective in the run game this season. PFF hasn’t been kind to either, with Eichenberg’s run-block grade at 56.9 and Jones’ at 58.6, both below average.
Now, all of this isn’t to say that San Francisco’s 18th-ranked run defense. Just last Thursday, the Rams 22nd-ranked run offense rushed for 142 yards on 38 attempts, doing just enough to keep the Los Angeles offense moving in the sloppy conditions. The 49ers have allowed 100 rushing yards or more in four of its last six games.
21.6
According to Pro Football Reference, Miami’s pass rush generates pressure on 21.6 percent of dropbacks, 23rd in the league.
Before we start, an important distinction should be made: PFR counts a pressure as a sack, hurry, or quarterback knockdown.
Like with the running game, Miami has seen a severe drop in pass rush production compared to last season. However, unlike the run game, there is something to point to as a potential source for the pass rush issues, and he could make his return on Sunday.
Bradley Chubb led Miami in 2023 with 11.0 sacks, the most by a Dolphins pass rusher since Cameron Wake had 11.5 in 2016. Behind Chubb, Miami finished third in pressure rate (27.7) and third in sacks (56). Without Chubb in 2024, the Dolphins have just 28 sacks through 14 games.
Chubb may return on Sunday – he’s been limited in practice this week and has just one more week remaining in his practice window – but without him, Miami has been led by defensive tackles Zach Sieler and Calais Campbell, with Chop Robinson recording five sacks on the edge, tied for second-most among rookies this year.
4
Sunday marks the 49ers fourth trip to Miami since 1995.
1995 also happens to be the last time the 49ers won in Miami. Elivs Grbac walked into Joe Robbie Stadium—now known as Hard Rock Stadium—and threw for 382 yards and four touchdowns, outgunning Dan Marino’s Dolphins 44-20.
Since then, the 49ers have scored 33 combined points in two losses in Miami. Ideally, San Francisco will score more than 11 on Sunday to finally surpass the 44-point plateau reached by the 1995 49ers in one game.
As I like to do when we look back on games in the past, I go right to the quarterback matchups, and the last three 49ers in Miami matchups feature some curious matchups:
- 1995: Grbac against Marino
- 2008: Shaun Hill against Chad Pennington
- 2016: Colin Kaepernick again Ryan Tannehill
If we include games in San Francisco as well, there’s a bonus Tim Rattay against A.J. Feeley’s game in 2004.
There have been some interesting quarterback matchups in the past, but on Sunday, we will see Brock Purdy against Tua Tagovailoa for the second time in three years. This time, however, will be Purdy’s first start against Tagovailoa despite it being the second time the two-faced. The last time Miami played San Francisco, Jimmy Garoppolo started in what ended up being his last game as a 49er, and we’ve heard the term “Mr. Irrelevant” every week since.
A win for the 49ers on Sunday will even the all-time series between San Francisco and Miami at eight games a piece and would be the first time the Niners have won consecutive games against the Dolphins since winning five-in-a-row starting with Super Bowl XIX in 1985 through 2001.